Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) eBook

One contestant after another drops out. The excitement
becomes wilder; more and more people join in accompanying
the few runners left, their principal motive being
to shout encouraging words to the runners and urge
them to exert themselves to the utmost. And at
last the best man comes in, generally alone, the others
having either given up the contest or being far behind.

The race usually commences at midday; but often the
bets are not finished until late in the afternoon.
It may last four hours and even longer. A famous
runner, now dead, could run from midday until sunrise.
There is no prize for the winner himself, except the
golden opinions he earns among the women; and his
father may accept presents from lucky bettors.
A man who wins a cow is expected to give two pesos
to the victorious runner; in case he wins a goat he
gives half a real.

The race over, the wagers are immediately paid and
the Indians quickly disperse, soon to arrange for
another contest.

Sometimes there is an old man’s race preceding
that of the young men, the latter being always the
principal event of the day. Races are also run
by women, and the betting and excitement that prevail
on these occasions run as high as at the men’s
races, though on a smaller scale. Instead of
tossing the ball with their toes, they use a large
wooden fork, with two or three prongs, to pitch it
forward. Sometimes they have a ring of twisted
strips of yucca leaves instead of the ball, but more
often two interlocked rings which they throw ahead
with a stick curved at the end. This game, which
is called rowe-mala (rowe signifies a ring), must
be very ancient, for rings of this kind have sometimes
been found in ancient cliff-dwellings. It is certainly
a strange sight to see these sturdy amazons race heavily
along with astonishing perseverance, when creeks and
water-holes come in their way, simply lifting their
skirts a la Diane and making short work of
the crossing.

Chapter XVI

Religion—­Mother
Moon Becomes the Virgin Mary—­Myths—­The
Creation—­The Deluge—­Folk-lore—­The
Crow’s Story to the
Parrot—­Brother
Coyote—­Beliefs about Animals.

The pagans or gentiles in the barrancas say
that they have two gods, but no devil. These
gods are Father Sun (Nonorugami) and Mother Moon (Yerugami).
The Sun guards the men in the daytime; therefore the
Tarahumares do not transact business after sunset.
He also makes the animals sleep. The Moon watches
at night, and is the special deity of the women.
In her nightly vigils she is assisted by her son, the
Morning Star, who commands all the other stars, because
they are his sons and they are Tarahumares. The
Stars advise their brothers on earth when thieves
are entering their houses. When the Tarahumares
affirm anything solemnly, they say, “By those
above!” meaning the Sun, Moon, and the Stars.